A Winning Back hand against Uncle Jon 18 Jul 2009

ROLAND GARROS - PARIS 6th June 2009

A Dream Come True
by Angela Lim

Everybody has dreams - dreams of going places, doing things, of accomplishments. On the 4th of June 2009, one such dream came true for me – I set off on the journey of my life to Roland Garros in Paris to play in a Charity event with two great tennis legends, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. The night my family and I boarded the Singapore Airlines A380 plane, I felt a great sense of anticipation and excitement.

We arrived the next morning and were brought to our hotel, together with the 15 children who were selected from their respective countries to play in the event. The first day in the city of Paris was a free and easy day for the participants and their families. My family and I spent a wonderful day visiting all the must-see tourist attractions. We went to the famous Notre Dame Church, climbed the Arc de Triomphe, saw Mona Lisa at the Louvre, cruised along the beautiful River Seine and went right up to the very top of the Eiffel Tower! The view from the top was spectacular!

Finally the great day of the Charity Event came and I was extremely excited and nervous. What worried me was that it was raining and I was afraid that the event might be cancelled. As soon as I stepped onto the red clay court and saw the two tennis giants, all my worries left me. “Nothing is going to stop me from playing well today,” I thought.

When my turn came, I stepped forward eagerly. We were going to play doubles and I was to partner Andre Agassi. I felt extremely honoured to be standing beside, let alone, partnering a professional tennis player in a tennis match, watched by a few hundred spectators!!

On the final and deciding point, I hit a drop-shot winner against Steffi Graf and her partner from Taiwan. I felt deliriously happy and proud! Agassi and I exchanged a high-five with smiles spreading across our faces, as I had just won USD 10,000 for the Andre Agassi Foundation.

The trip to Paris was indeed an amazing opportunity for me and that it did not just come accidentally. I believe that people create opportunities for themselves by working hard; and when opportunities do come knocking on our doors, we should grab it with both hands and not let it go. Believe that you can achieve and you will achieve. With lots of determination and hard work, you can achieve anything you want, just keep working at it. Dreams do come true!

Angela training at Astoria 12 Jul 2009